SBS just unveiled their ‘original, impactful and inclusive’ line-up for 2020, and it looks like we’ll practically be living in front of our screens in the New Year. So much to see, so little time!
The broadcaster revealed their content slate for next year at their annual Upfronts in Sydney on Tuesday. The announcement revealed a lengthy line-up of shows slated for SBS, SBS Viceland, NITV, SBS Food, SBS World Movies and their streaming service SBS On Demand.
Managing Director James Taylor says the new additions will enable SBS to continue to “tell stories otherwise untold and give a voice to those often unheard.”
Scroll through to see what’s new on each SBS platform in 2020…
New on SBS
The broadcaster has commissioned two new Australian dramas, to air exclusively on SBS.
Hungry Ghosts is a terrifying four-part series that reveals what happens when a tomb in Vietnam is accidentally opened on the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival. Vengeful spirits wreak havoc across the Vietnamese Australian community in Melbourne, reclaiming lost loves and exacting revenge.
The series boasts an all-star cast, with Ryan Corr (Packed To The Rafters, Bloom), Catherine Văn-Davies (The Letdown), Bryan Brown (Bloom), Susie Porter (Wentworth), Clare Bowen (Nashville), Ferdinand Hoang (Rake), Gareth Yuen (Party Tricks), Justine Clarke (Squinters), Jillian Nguyen (True History Of The Kelly Gang), and Suzy Wrong (Crownies).
Watch the trailer for Hungry Ghosts. Story continues after video…
New Gold Mountain is another four-part series, telling the story of the Australian gold rush fever of 1855 from the perspective of Chinese miners.
It follows Wei Shing, the charismatic and ruthless leader of the White Hills Chinese mining camp. When Shing discovers the murdered body of a European woman, he uncovers a series of connections to the Chinese camp with implications disastrous both for himself and his people.
Other new additions to SBS include international dramas On Becoming A God In Florida, War Of The Worlds, and Dublin Murders.
Returning favourites include Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Project Blue Book, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Good Fight and Vikings, which returns for its sixth instalment.
SBS is the Aussie home of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
(Image: Fox)Documentaries take centre stage on SBS, with a slate of new programs to hit our screens in the New Year.
Who Gets To Stay In Australia? is an emotive and provocative new series that follows the stories of families and individuals whose lives now hinge on one crucial decision, whether or not they are granted permanent residency in Australia.
Presented by Rachel Perkins, First Wars will unearth the 100 year history of the frontier conflict in Australia that has “often been buried, whitewashed, or ignored.”
Who Do You Think You Are? returns for its 11th season, with well-known Australians including Lisa Wilkinson playing detective as they go in search of their family history.
Also set to uncover family mysteries, Every Family Has A Secret is back with a second season. Presented by Noni Hazlehurst, this season will reveal more dark pasts and hidden scandals that have impacted generations.
Filthy, Rich & Homeless is back for season three, with five high-profile Australians swapping their privileged lives to discover what life is like for the nation’s homeless. This time, they will explore ‘hidden homelessness’ outside of our major cities.
The cast of Filthy, Rich & Homeless season two.
(Image: SBS)See What You Made Me Do follows investigative journalist Jess Hill as she traces a path “through the fog that makes domestic abuse so difficult to identify, often impossible to escape, and slippery to fix.”
Other documentaries to air include Marry Me, Marry My Family, Secrets Of Our Cities, Addicted, Come Fly With Me, Untold Australia, Trust Me I’m A Doctor, Bollywood: The World’s Biggest Film Industry, North America With Simon Reeve, Michael Palin In North Korea, Great Australian Railway Journeys, The Clinton Affair and Mega Metro.
Foodies will have their fill with Luke Nguyen’s Railway Vietnam, where the celebrated chef takes us on a culinary journey in Vietnam.
Eurovision – Australia Decides returns in February, with 10 artists competing for their chance to represent Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, in May.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2020 will air live for the first time ever, with Joel Creasey, Narelda Jacobs, Zoe Coombs-Marr, and Courtney Act at the helm.
Mastermind also returns for a second season, with a new spin-off series Celebrity Mastermind.
Joel Creasey and Myf Warhurst return as Eurovision hosts for SBS.
(Image: SBS)Sporting highlights next year include the UEFA Women’s Champions League Football final, the Koori Knockout, International Champions Cup Football, Ballon d’Or Football Awards and the Dakar Rally.
In 2019, the SBS network became the free-to-air home of basketball in Australia, with full coverage of the National Basketball League (NBL), alongside matches from the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) leagues. Their coverage will continue in the new year.
Along with basketball, SBS is the home of cycling with the 2020 Tour De France and La Vuelta a España. Both the US Open Finals and the Roland-Garos French Open Finals will also return to SBS in 2020.
SBS World News, Insight, and Dateline will return next year, along with The Feed, which will join the SBS news line-up after four seasons on VICELAND.
The Feed joins SBS’s news line-up.
(Image: Instagram/marcfennell)New on SBS On Demand
In 2020, there will be plenty of global smash-hits coming exclusively to the streaming service.
The New Pope, starring Jude Law and John Malkovich, is a follow up to the 2016 series The Young Pope. Pope Pius XIII (Law) is in a coma, and Sir John Brannox (Malkovich) is elected to the papal throne. The new Pope may seem perfect, but Brannox, like his predecessor, is hiding frailties and secrets.
Twin stars Game Of Thrones’ Kristofer Hivju as identical twin brothers Erik and Adam, who live very different and completely separate lives. When Erik seeks out his brother after fifteen years apart, a fight ends with Erik and Adam’s wife, Ingrid, accidentally killing Adam. What happens next?
Based on John le Carre’s novel of the same name, Little Drummer Girl is a passionate love story set in the late 1970s that weaves a tale of espionage and international intrigue. The show stars Florence Pugh, Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Shannon.
Also coming to SBS On Demand is Agent Hamilton, ZeroZeroZero and The Hot Zone. Returning favourites include Vikings, Das Boot, Fargo and Bloom, with Call Me Bruna, Broadchurch and Escobar Exposed.
The Little Drummer Girl is coming to SBS On Demand.
(Image: BBC)New on SBS VICELAND
Netflix original series Narcos will air on SBS VICELAND, beginning in November 2019, with 10 episodes to take the show in to 2020. The series takes an inside look at the men who would stop at nothing to take down the notorious cocaine trafficker, Pablo Escobar.
Wellington Paranormal is back with a second season, with the return of officers Minogue (Mike Minogue), O’Leary (Karen O’Leary) and Sergeant Maaka (Maaka Pohatu). The officers continue investigating all manner of supernatural events on the streets of Aotearoa’s capital city, Wellington.
Punk is a four-part docu-series exploring the history of punk music, and features interviews with icons like Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, the Ramons, Sex Pistols and Blondie.
Shrill, starring Aidy Bryant, returns for a second season in early 2020. The series focuses on Annie, young woman who wants to change her life – but not her body.
Aidy Bryant is back with a second season of Shrill.
(Image: SBS)Also new to VICELAND are The Bisexual, Couples On The Couch, Homeland, The Tesla Files and Cults and Extreme Beliefs.
The New York Times Present: The Weekly, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, X-Files, Letterkenny, Abandoned Engineering, and Adam Ruins Everything are returning.
New on SBS World Movies
Earlier this year, SBS launched World Movies, a free-to-air television channel showing international movies. In 2020, the channel will continue to premiere exciting new films.
Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, Elle, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool and Shoplifters are among the hundreds of international titles set to grace our screens.
New on SBS Food
SBS continues its culinary adventures with new programs in 2020, with The Great Australian Cookbook kicking things off in December.
The series gives an affectionate culinary snapshot of the food Australian’s love to cook, eat, and enjoy as it takes viewers on an adventure around the country to meet the nation’s culinary legends.
Diana Chan and Silvia Colloca will grace our screens with their own programs, Asia Unplated with Diana Chan and Cook Like an Italian with Silvia Colloca.
Also set to air are Jimmy Shu’s Taste of the Territory, Donal’s Cook, Eat, Burn! and Slice with Adam Richman.
New on NITV
Along with the return of favourites like Little J & Big Cuz, Going Places With Ernie Dingo, Family Rules, Living Black and The Point, NITV is offering a bunch of exciting new series.
In The Beach, famed director Warwick Thornton has chosen to give up the limelight, the drugs and the entourage, to go it alone, on an isolated beach in one of the most beautiful yet brutal environments in the world, to see if he can transform and heal his life.
Straight to the Plate follows Aaron Fa’aso as he follows his nose to unearth the stories, culture, and secrets behind the unique cuisine of the Torres Straits.
Marni is a “mesmerising marathon of colour and dot work” following Pilbara artist, Allery Sandy, as she works on a commissioned painting. As she paints, Allery tell us about herself and her art practice in the Yindjibarndi language.
Other new series including Future Dreaming, Faboriginal and Thalu are also set to air. International programs including Nat King Cole: Afraid Of The Dark, American Soul and Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don’t Know Me will also be airing on NITV.
Faboriginal is a deadly arts game show featuring the host with the most, Steven Oliver.
(Image: Instagram/NITV)Bring on 2020!
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